Malacañan Palace: A Quick Guide

MALACANAN

PALACE

A quick guide

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PRESIDENTIAL MUSEUM & LIBRARY

I. MALACANAN PALACE

Introduction

Malacanan Palace - the official residence of the President
of the Philippines, situated in the old Manila district of
San Miguel. Over the 175-odd years that government has
owned the place, the building has been remodeled,
expanded, demolished, and rebuilt, and the adjoining land
was also bought. Whatever remained of the original
structure must have disappeared in the 1978-79 rebuilding
by then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

The name is derived from the Tagalog word
“Mamalakaya-han,” which meant the place of
fishermen in Tagalog. It was later on Hispanicized
and simplified to “Malacanan.”

History

The first recorded owner of the
property was Luis Rocha, a Spaniard
in the Galleon trade. Don Luis was
married to Gregoria Tuason, daughter
of the Chinese Son Tua who founded
the prominent Tuason family. His
modern day descendants report
that he was evidently a large and
hot tempered man who loved his
afternoon siesta. One of the duties
of his Indian manservant was to
shush off noisy boatmen plying the
Pasig, warning them “Malaki yan” -
another version of the genesis of the
Malacanang name. One of Don Luis’
many children was Antonio Rocha,
who married an Ycaza, hence a nearby
street of the name. Antonio’s son was
painter Lorenzo Rocha, a student of
the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura who
was sent to Madrid in 1858 as the first
Philippine art scholar.

The Rocha property was built of
stone, described as being a relatively
modest country house (although
modern day Rochas say it was not
small and in fact had a ballroom) with
a bath house on the river and gardens,
all enclosed by a stone fence. The
latter was probably a nipa-roofed and
bamboo-enclosed structure built on
the water, where away from the gaze
of passing boats, the Rochas and their

guests could enjoy the rushing water
while clinging to a rope - a favorite
pastime of those simpler days. It was
one among many weekend homes of
the elite, located in San Miguel, Paco,
and Sta. Ana along the Pasig and its
tributaries, easily accessible from
Intramuros and Binondo by boat, by
carriage, or on horseback. The still
standing “Carriedo House” within the
Sta. Mesa campus of the Polytechnic
University of the Philippines may have
been one of these weekend homes.

Luis Rocha sold the property in 1802
to Colonel Jose Miguel Fomento of the
Spanish Army. Fomento’s testamentary
executors in turn sold it to the
government upon his death in 1825, paid
from proceeds of a Chinese head tax.

The Spanish Governors General had
lived grandly in Intramuros, since
the 17th century in the Palacio del
Gobernador on Plaza Mayor. The
“Posesion de Malacanang,” as it
was called, was a country home and
temporary residence of outgoing
Governors General awaiting the next
ship to Spain.

The earthquake of June 3, 1863
felled the Palacio at Intramuros. The
Governor General had to move to
Malacanang. Finding the place too
small, a wooden two-story building

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

was added at the back of the original
structure; smaller buildings for aides,
guards, and porters were added, as
well as stables, carriage sheds, and a
boat landing for river-borne visitors.

The newly closed Colegio de Sta.
Potenciana was remodeled into the
Palacio Provisional de Sta. Potenciana,
located at the site where now stands
the Philippine National Red Cross
and maybe the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)
Buildings on General Luna Street.
With Sta. Potenciana ready, the
Governor General moved back to
Intramuros in 1865. Meanwhile,
repairs continued at Malacanang.
Work must have been just completed
when another earthquake struck,
badly damaging both Sta. Potenciana
and Malacanang. The Governor
General moved to an office building
on Calle Cabildo in Intramuros.

Malacanang was once again repaired
and improved. Its posts were
strengthened, roof tiles replaced with
GI sheets, balconies repaired, and both
exterior and interior beautified. As
luck would have it, no sooner were
these completed when fresh calamities
struck: a typhoon in October 1872,
an earthquake in December 1872, a
fire in February 1873, another fire in
1873 after repairs were completed, and

a bad storm in May 1873. After that,
rebuilding resumed in earnest, with new
wings, azoteas, rooms, and galleries, over
the next four years (1875-79).

By the time the Americans took over
in 1898, Malacanang was a rambling
Spanish colonial period building, built
of wood, with sliding capiz windows,
patios, and azoteas.

The American Governors General
abandoned the plan to reconstruct the
old Palacio at Intramuros. Instead,
they continued to improve and enlarge
Malacanang, buying up more land,
reclaiming more of the Pasig River,
raising the ground level (to keep
above flood waters), changing wood
to concrete, and beautifying the
interiors with hardwood panelling and
magnificent chandeliers. Governor
General Dwight Davis (1929-32) was a
notably active builder.

In 1920, the Executive Building was
constructed for the Governor
General and his staff. Until then, the
Chief of State had to commute daily
to his office at the Ayuntamiento
Building, now still a ruin at one side
of Plaza de Roma, by the Manila
Cathedral. Governor General
Leonard Wood was the last chief
executive to hold office in Intramuros
and the first in Malacanang.

Malacanan Palace

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Beginning 1935, when Manuel L.
Quezon moved to Malacanang as
the President of the Commonwealth,
Palace improvements were continued,
including the construction of the
Social Hall on the ground floor (now
Heroes Hall), intended for dining,
dancing, and non-official social
affairs. It was Dona Aurora Quezon,
then the First Lady, who saw to the
construction of a Palace chapel, which
is at the left of the main entrance,
in time for the 33rd International
Eucharistic Congress in 1937.

Malacanang survived the Second
World War, the only survivor among
the major government buildings of
Manila. The southwest side of the
Palace, which would have been the

State Dining Room and its service
area, was damaged by shelling, but the
rest was unscathed.

Malacanang continued to be the jewel
of the still fashionable district of San
Miguel, which unlike Ermita, Malate,
and Paco across the river was spared
by the war.

In 1972, the Executive Building
was cleared of employees. Many
transferred to the recently enlarged
Administration Building (now called
Mabini Hall). J.P. Laurel Street
(formerly Aviles Street) was closed to
traffic and the Pasig River dredged.
The entire second floor of the
Executive Building was converted into
the large Maharlika Hall,

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

used for social functions and
official gatherings.

The former servants’ quarters at
the west end of the Palace grounds,
abutting the old San Miguel Brewery
which has since transferred elsewhere,
was remodelled in 1975 into the
Premier Guest House, on time for the
IMF-World Bank Boards of Governors
meeting. The nearby Arlegui Guest
House was built at the same time.

In 1978, the Palace was expanded,
its facades on all four sides moved
forward. The Presidential quarters
were enlarged on the J.P. Laurel
front, eliminating the small garden
and driveway leading to the private
entrance. A new dining room and

expanded guest suites were built
on the main entrance front. On the
riverside, a large Ceremonial Hall was
built in place of the azoteas, veranda,
and pavilion. A larger presidential
bedroom was constructed on the
remaining side, with a disco above, at
roof level. The layout of the old rooms
was retained, although the rooms
themselves were enlarged and new
bedroom suites inserted in what had
been part of the garden.

The old Palace was gutted almost
entirely, not only to meet the needs
of the Presidential family but also
because the buildings had been
weakened by patch up renovation
and repair jobs of a century.

Malacanan Palace

7

The new Palace was made of poured
concrete, concrete slabs, steel girders,
and trusses, all concealed by elegant
hardwood floors, panels, and ceilings.
It was fully bulletproof and air-
conditioned and has an independent
power supply. Reconstruction was
overseen by Architect Jorge Ramos
and closely supervised by then
First Lady Imelda Marcos. It was
inaugurated on May 1, 1979, the
Marcos silver wedding anniversary.

During a fire in 1982 many
irreplaceable mementos in a small
museum on the ground floor were
lost. Air purification equipment was
installed in 1983. In both instances,
the First Family lived in the
Premier Guest House.

The Marcos family bid Malacanang
goodbye in the evening of February
25, 1986, a few hours after President
Marcos took his oath for a six-year term
before Chief Justice Ramon Aquino.

Fulfilling a campaign promise,
President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino
decided to live in what had been
the Arlegui Guest House and held
office in the Premier Guest House.

Her successor, President Fidel Valdez
Ramos, also decided to live in the
Arlegui Guest House but held office in
the Palace. President Joseph Ejercito

Estrada remodelled the Premier Guest
House into a combination residence
and office. In January 2001, President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo returned to
the Palace and made it both residence
and office. President Benigno S. Aquino
III chose not to reside in Malacanang
but in Bahay Pangarap, located within
Malacanang Park, but holds office in
the Bonifacio Hall of Malacanang.

QUICK FACTS

PALACE AREA

Ground floor:

5,022 square meters
Second floor:

5, 210 square meters
Roofdeck:

1,175 square meters
Area of compound (Palace
and Guest House):

2 hectares

NUMBER OF ROOMS

Ground floor: 29 rooms
Second Floor: 32 rooms

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Malacanan Palace State Rooms

Rizal Ceremonial Hall
Reception Hall

Aguinaldo State Dining Room
Presidential Study
Music Room
Heroes Hall

Rizal Ceremonial Hall

Uses of Room

The Rizal Ceremonial Hall is used for
state dinners, large assemblies, and
mass oath takings of public officials.

It is also used for the presentation of
credentials of incoming ambassadors
and conferment of state awards and
decorations. It is also where presidents
lie-in-state upon their death.

Historic Features of Room
This room, the largest in the Palace,
is used for state dinners and large
assemblies, notably the mass oath
takings of public officials begun by
President Ramos. Orchestras sometimes
play from the minstrels’ galleries at the
two ends of the hall.

Three large wood and glass chandeliers
illuminate the hall. Carved and
installed in 1979 by the famous
Juan Flores of Beds, Pampanga,
the chandeliers are masterpieces of
Philippine artistry in wood.

The Hall used to be much smaller,
built in 1936 where there used to be
a smaller courtyard dating back to
Spanish times. The Hall was in effect
merely an extension of the Reception
Hall. It had a coved ceiling similar to
those to those of old Philippine homes,
and glass doors opening to verandas on
three sides overlooking the Pasig River
and Malacanang Park. The room at the
time boasted the largest chandelier in
the Palace, purchased in 1937. Many

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

al fresco parties were held here, with
round tables set on the azoteas and
veranda for dinner and the Ceremonial
Hall, doors thrown open, cleared for
dancing. The azoteas, verandas, and the
intimate pavilion in the middle were
combined in 1979 into the present
enormous hall.

Reception Hall

Uses of Room

Visitors assemble in this impressive
room prior to a program or state
function at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall
beyond, or while waiting to be received
by the President in the Presidential
Study or the Music Room on the left,
or before entering the Aguinaldo State
Dining Room on the right.

Historic Features of Room
This room was the largest of the Palace
before the 1979 renovation. It was
created by Governor-General Francis
Burton Harrison, who demolished
bedrooms to create a spacious area.

It was embellished with a vaulted
ceiling by President Quezon and totally
rebuilt in 1979. Old photographs
show presidents receiving guests close
to the top of the Grand Staircase
at New Year’s Day “at home” and
other affairs. An elaborate ceiling

Malacanan Palace: State Rooms

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was installed in the 1930s, carved by
noted sculptor Isabelo Tampingco
who depicted vases of flowers against
a lattice background. The Tampingco
woodwork, supported by concrete
neoclassical pillars, was curved and
in some eyes gave the room a coffin
shape. This is supposedly why in the
1979 renovation, the Tampingcos were
replaced with two facing balconies and
the pillars removed. The balconies each
have seven chandeliers, seven being the
lucky number of the Marcoses.

Easily the most outstanding feature of
the Reception Hall are the three large
Czechoslovakian chandeliers bought
in 1937. These have always been
treasured and during the Second World
War, were carefully disassembled prism
by prism and hidden for safekeeping.
They were taken out and reassembled
after the war. Beneath the chandeliers
was a massive table made of the

finest Philippine hardwoods, a gift
to President Quezon from convicts
in gratitude for their Presidential
pardons. The table was a fixture
of the Reception Hall from the
Quezon to Marcos administrations,
when it became the dining table for
the presidential residence used by
presidents Aquino and Ramos. It was
restored to its traditional place in
2002, before being transferred to the
Ramos Study Conference Room later.
President Arroyo had it removed after
Nini Quezon-Avancena supported
Mrs. Arroyo’s impeachment.

Official portraits of all Philippine
presidents are on the walls, from
Emilio Aguinaldo to Benigno S.
Aquino, III, painted by Fernando
Amorsolo, Galo Ocampo, Antonio
Garcia Llamas, Romeo Enriquez,
Policarpio Caparas, and Lulu Coching-
Rodriguez.

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Aguinaldo State Dining Room

Uses of Room

This room is used mainly for Cabinet
meetings and State Dinners for small
groups. The adjacent Viewing Room
is used as a holding room of aides of
officials attending cabinet meetings in
the Aguinaldo State Dining Room.

Historic Features of Room
In the past, this was where presidents
dined with state guests and official
visitors. A long adjustable table could
accommodate up to about fifty guests.
The president would sit at the center
of the table and the First Lady across
from him. The chandeliers, which
were transferred by President Quezon

from the Ayuntamiento de Manila, are
Spanish, as are the gilded mirrors that
have been here since 1877. The room
was widened and a mirrored ceiling
installed in 1979. President Arroyo
had the some of the mirrors replaced
with the Amorsolo paintings from the
Ramos Study Conference Room, and the
mirrors attached to the ceiling removed.

Beyond is a smaller room, just as
long but narrower than the dining
room. Intended for cabinet meetings
and film showings, the room proved
rather small and was rarely used as
such. The room, called the Viewing
Room, was more frequently used

Malacanan Palace: State Rooms

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to hold buffets for people meeting in
the State Dining Room. Another 1979
innovation, this occupies what was a
veranda overlooking the Palace driveway
and garden.

It was named the Aguinaldo State
Dining Room in 2003 in honor of
President Emilio Aguinaldo, who

was confined in this room by the
Americans following his capture in
Palanan, Isabela in 1901.

Presidential Study

Uses of Room

This room remains the traditional and
ceremonial office of the President of
the Philippines.

Historic Features of Room
Formerly called the Rizal Room, the
Presidential Study was created in
1935 from what used to be a bedroom
dating back to Spanish times. Francis
Burton Harrison Jr. was born here
during his father’s term as Governor
General. Since Governor General
Frank Murphy brought with him the
desk made for William Howard Taft,
President Quezon installed a new set
of desk and chairs used by all the
Philippine presidents until President
Marcos replaced them in 1979.

Subsequently, the old presidential
desk and chairs were kept in President
Marcos’ private office until put
away in storage during the Aquino
administration. Fate in his term,
President Marcos restored the desk
and chairs to the presidential study
but they were again removed by
President Estrada and used instead

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

in the First Lady’s office in the New
Executive Building. The presidential
desk and chairs were restored once
more to their traditional use and place
by President Arroyo. The chandelier in
this room dates to the Commonwealth
as does the general design of the room,
which however was expanded and
rebuilt in 1979.

Presidents Quezon, Laurel, Osmena,
Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, and
Garcia used this office primarily in
the afternoon and in the evening,
for more confidential work, or to
greet visitors and address the nation
on radio. Presidents Macapagal and
Marcos gradually abandoned the
use of the Presidential Office in the
Executive Building and began using
the Presidential Study exclusively.
Behind the Presidential Study is a

small conference room called the
Study Conference Room. President
Marcos used this as an extension of
his office for confidential meetings. It
continued to be used as office space
until it was refurbished during the
Estrada administration.

Music Room

Uses of Room

This room is where the First Lady
traditionally receives her guests, and
during President Corazon Aquino’s
administration, for receiving officials.

Historic Feature of Room
Originally a bedroom during the
Spanish and American colonial
periods, the room’s use changed over
the years, and the room was later
remodelled into a library for Mrs.
Aurora A. Quezon in 1936. During the
administration of President Quirino,
the bookshelves were removed and
turned into a Music Room, with
sculptures by Guillermo Tolentino
adorning the room. A Juan Luna
masterpiece, “Una Bulaquena,” used
to hang above the grand piano, while

“The Cellist” by Miguel Zaragosa
hung across the room above the sofa.

Mrs. Imelda Marcos decorated the
room in mint green. She would sit
on the antique French sofa and the
visitors on the armchairs. On rare
occasions, small concerts were held
here, featuring famous Filipino
and foreign musicians. President
Corazon Aquino used this room for
receiving officials. President Estrada
had the room refurnished with more
comfortable sofas and easy chairs,
maintaining the same color scheme.

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Malacanan Palace: State Rooms

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Heroes Hall

Uses of Room

This room is being used as a venue
for informal gatherings and can
accommodate 400.

Historic Features of Room
Originally named the Social Hall,
it was constructed by President
Quezon and was intended for
informal gatherings, until it was
renamed Heroes Hall by President
Diosdado Macapagal and decorated
with bronze busts of heroes by the
renowned Filipino sculptor Guillermo
Tolentino. The Hall, as large as the
Rizal Ceremonial Hall directly above,
received a mirrored ceiling in 1979
and for the rest of the Marcos era
was used not only for meetings and
informal gatherings but also for state
dinners in honor of visiting Heads
of State. Among the distinguished
visitors entertained in this Hall by
the Marcoses were the President

of Mexico, the Prime Minister of
Thailand, and Princess Margaret of
the United Kingdom.

It was from this room that Presidents
Marcos and Estrada departed the palace
for the last time in 1986 and 2001.

In 1998, the National Centennial
Commission installed three large
paintings specially commissioned
for the hall. The one in the vestibule
is by Carlos Valino, while the two
others are by a group of artists
headed by Karen Flores and Elmer
Borlongan. The murals depict the
panorama of Philippine history from
the pre-Hispanic era to 1998. These
are in addition to the portraits of
various heroes painted by Florentino
Macabuhay from 1940-1960 and
displayed in the corridor leading to
the Hall.

Malacanan Palace: State Rooms

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Malacanan Palace Historic Rooms

Magsaysay Dining Room
Garcia Room
Laurel Room
Macapagal Room
Marcos Room

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

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Magsaysay Dining Room

Originally the State Dining Room
during the Spanish era, this became
the family living and dining room
at the time of the Commonwealth.

It features a special set of furniture,
including a unique dining table with
truncated corners to accommodate
more diners, as well as China cabinets
and sideboard featuring sphinxes,
popular at the time. Favored by
President Ramon Magsaysay as a
location for his cabinet meetings
during his presidency, the room was

named after him in August 31, 2003 by
virtue of Proclamation 451 issued by
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The Magsaysay Room occupies the
State Dining Room of the Spanish and
American eras, and the Family Dining
Room of the Commonwealth and the
Third Republic. The Commonwealth
era furniture had been moved to the
expanded dining and living areas of
the private quarters.

Malacanan Palace: Historic Rooms

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Garcia Room

The Garcia Room was formerly
a much smaller room, which led
from the old Family Dining Room
to the private apartments of the
First Family in the North Wing.
Enlarged and enclosed in 1979, it
was named after President Carlos
P. Garcia in December 17, 2002 by
virtue of Proclamation No. 518 in
remembrance of the President who
used it as a Game Room during his
term. The room serves as an anteroom
to the living and dining room of the
First Family and is furnished with
antiques purchased during the Marcos
administration together with more
modern furniture dating from the
Estrada presidency.

Laurel Room

During the years of the Japanese
occupation, then President Jose P.
Laurel held office in Malacanan
Palace while choosing to stay in his
Paco residence. When the military
situation worsened, President Laurel
used this room as his bedroom from
1943 to 1945. Mrs. Laurel, however,
remained at their Paco residence.
Presidents Elpidio Quirino and Ramon
Magsaysay both also used this room
as their bedrooms throughout their
Presidential stints. American President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, resided in this
bedroom while visiting the Philippines
in 1960 during the term of President
Carlos P. Garcia. The original room
was demolished during the dictatorship

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

of President Ferdinand E. Marcos and
converted into his private office.

By virtue of Proclamation No.

339 on March 10, 2003, the room
was renamed the Laurel Room to
recognize the President Laurel’s service
to the nation.

Macapagal Room

This room is located in the North
Wing of Malacanan Palace, which
was constructed in 1937 to provide
additional bedrooms for the hirst
Lamily. It was first used by Mrs.
Aurora A. Quezon. It was later
occupied by President and Mrs. Sergio
Osmena, President and Mrs. Manuel
Roxas, President Elpidio Quirino
during his first term, and President
and Mrs. Carlos P. Garcia. On
January 16, 1962, President and Mrs.
Diosdado Macapagal moved into this
room, having spent the first few weeks
of his administration commuting
morning and afternoon between their
private residence at 108 Laura Street,
San Juan and the Executive Office in
Malacanan Palace.

During the reconstruction of the
Palace from 1978 to 1979, this room
was enlarged and greatly changed,
although the location of this room
conforms roughly to the old bedroom.

In recognition of President
Macapagal’s service to the nation,
this room was named the Macapagal
Room by virtue of Proclamation No.
478, signed on September 28, 2003 by
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Marcos Room

In 1978-79, finding Malacanan
Palace decayed by time and in an
advanced state of structural disrepair,
the reconstruction of the Palace was
ordered. Rebuilt under the supervision
of Architect Jorge Ramos, Malacanan
Palace was rebuilt in time to be re-
inaugurated for the silver wedding
anniversary of President and Mrs.
Lerdinand E. Marcos on May 1, 1979.

Malacanan Palace was greatly enlarged,
new facades built, and the rooms
entirely redecorated. Among the new
additions to the Palace was this room,
which was constructed specifically as
the bedroom for President Marcos.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
issued Proclamation No. 464 on
September 11, 2003, naming this
room after President Marcos, citing
its historic value and connection to
President Marcos.

Malacanan Palace: Historic Rooms

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Kalayaan Hall State Rooms

Quezon Executive Office
Quirino Council of State Room
Roxas Cabinet Room
Osmeha Room
Presidential Broadcast Studio
Old Vice President’s Office

Malacanan Palace: Historic Rooms

Kalayaan Hall State Rooms

Kalayaan Hall is the oldest part of the Palace and combines the histories of
the American colonial period, the Commonwealth, and the Second and Third
Republics. Built in the Renaissance-revivalist style of architecture, it stands on
the grounds of Spanish-era picadero pavilion and has survived through the
Second World War into the 21st century, making it one of the most intact pre-
war public buildings in the country. The facade once sparkled with Romblon
marble embedded in the concrete, but since the 1960s, coats of white paint
have obscured it. The hall’s imposing appearance can be attributed to its precast
ornamentation, high ceilings for air circulation in the tropical climate, and
wrought iron porte-cochere and balconies.This building has served as the center
of executive power for generations.

The main hall at the second floor of Kalayaan Hall was once the location
of the guest bedrooms during the American colonial period before it housed
the executive offices during the Commonwealth. In 1968, the building was
renovated to form the much larger Maharlika Hall, becoming the site for
State Dinners and Citizens’ Assemblies during the Marcos administration. On
February 25, 1986, President Marcos took his last oath of office and gave his
farewell speech from the hall’s front west balcony. It was subsequently used
as the Office of the Press Secretary until 2002, when it was transformed into
the main gallery of the Presidential Museum and Library, with parts of the old
State Dining table in the center, as well as the Gallery of Presidents, which is
composed of objects and memorabilia - including clothing, personal effects,
gifts, publications and documents - pertaining to the fifteen persons who have
held the Presidency.

Quezon Executive Office

Uses of Room

This room is the official Executive Office, part of the Presidential Museum
and Library, and is used to display memorabilia of former president Manuel L.
Quezon. This may also be used as a meeting room for six to eight persons. It
also houses a small portion of the collections of the Library.

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Historic Features of Room
This room was constructed in 1937-
39 as the new Executive Office for
presidents of the Philippines during
the administration of Manuel L.
Quezon, who was the first to use it. It
was also one of the first airconditioned
offices in the Philippines; centralized
airconditioning was installed under
the supervision of Mr. A. D. Williams
in 1937. This room was then used for
the office work and other duties of
the President of the Philippines, while
the Presidential Study in Malacanan
Palace itself was used for more
confidential meetings and work.

Presidents Laurel, Osmena, Roxas,
Quirino, and Magsaysay also used
this room as their executive office
during their presidencies. President
Garcia began using the Presidential
Study almost exclusively for official
business during his term, a practice
followed by Presidents Macapagal and
Marcos. However, President Marcos
had this room refurbished in 1972
and occasionally used it for official
business, until this room became the
office of General Fabian Ver. During
the term of President Corazon Aquino
this room was at first used by the
Press Secretary and eventually fell into
disuse, until it was restored in 2003.

Malacanan Palace: Historic Rooms

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Quirino Council of State Room

Uses of Room

This room served as the Council
of State Room, is now part of the
Presidential Museum and Library,
and is used to display memorabilia
of former president Elpidio Quirino.
This may also be used as a meeting
room for ten to fourteen persons. It
also houses a small portion of the
collections of the Library.

Historic Features of Room

This room was constructed in 1937-

39 as the Council of State Room.

It was in this room that the newly-
reconstituted Council of State during
the administration of President Manuel
L. Quezon met. It was also here that

the first meeting of National Economic
Council, today’s NEDA, was held in
1939. President Manuel L. Quezon
preferred to have his cabinet meetings
in this room, as did Presidents Elpidio
Quirino, Carlos P. Garcia, and Diosdado
Macapagal. Presidents Roxas, Quirino,
Magsaysay, Garcia, Macapagal, and
Marcos also had important meetings in
this room and it was here that officials
generally took their oaths of office
before the President of the Philippines.
From the administration of President
Manuel Roxas until Carlos P. Garcia,
all treaties and conventions entered into
by the Republic of the Philippine and
foreign governments were also signed in
this room.

28

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Two presidents of the Philippines have
taken their oath of office in this room.
On April 17, 1948, after the sudden
demise of President Manuel Roxas,
Elpidio Quirino took his oath of office
as President of the Philippines in this
room. Carlos P. Garcia took his oath
of office as President in this room on
March 18, 1957, after the tragic death
of President Ramon Magsaysay.

During the administration of President
Ferdinand E. Marcos, cabinet meetings
were transferred to the State Dining
Room (now the Aguinaldo Room) in
Malacanan Palace, and this room was
turned into part of a television studio.

It was restored in 2003.

Roxas Cabinet Room

Uses of Room

This room seved as the Cabinet Room,
is now part of the Presidential Museum
and Library, and is used to display
memorabilia of former president
Manuel Roxas. This may also be used
as a meeting room for six to eight
persons. It also houses a small portion
of the collections ofthe Library.

Historic Features of the Room
This room was part of the 1937-39
additions to the Executive Building. It
was originally intended as the Cabinet
Room, though used sparingly as such

by President Manuel L. Quezon. It
was President Manuel Roxas who
actively used this room for meetings
of his cabinet, a practice continued
until the early years of the Quirino
administration. This room was used
variously as a meeting and conference
room and an office until it became the
control room of a television studio in
1981. This room was restored to its
former appearance in 2003.

Osmena Room

Uses of Room

This room is now part of the
Presidential Museum and Library,
and is used to display memorabilia of
former president Sergio Osmena. This
may also be used as a meeting room
for six to eight persons.

Historic Features of Room
This room was used from 1920 until
1939 as the Cabinet Room under
the American Governors General
and during the early years of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines.

During his outstanding career,

Sergio Osmena attended meetings in
this room, first as a member of the
Council of State in his capacity as
Speaker of the House, and then Senate

Malacanan Palace: Historic Rooms

29

President pro tempore. During the
administration of President Manuel
L. Quezon, then Vice President Sergio
Osmena was given the then-premier
portfolio in the cabinet as Secretary
of Public Instruction, and attended
cabinet meetings here during that time.
He also held office in this building as
Vice President from 1935-1944. After
the restoration of the Commonwealth
government in 1945, President Osmena
held office in this building as well.

It was used by various offices before it
was fully restored in 2007.

30

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Presidential Broadcast Studio

Uses of Room

This room is now part of the
Presidential Museum and Library and
is used to brief museum visitors on
house rules.

Historical Features of Room
Between 1935 and 1939 during the
pre-war years of the Commonwealth
of the Philippines under President
Manuel L. Quezon, Dwight D.
Eisenhower, then the assistant military
adviser to the Philippine government,
held office here within the East Room
of the Old Executive Building. On
June 15, 1960 during his State Visit
to the Philippines — the first visit of an
American president to the country —
President Eisenhower returned to
this room and with President Carlos
P. Garcia shared his memories of the
years spent here in his old office.

During the presidency of Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo this room was
made into the Presidential Broadcast
Studio. It gave people the chance
to see their president at work.

The Presidential Broadcast Studio
commenced operations on
January 8, 2008.

Malacanan Palace: Historic Rooms

31

■■

Old Vice President’s Office

Completed in 1939, the rooms in this eastern part of the second floor originally
comprised the offices of the Vice President, and were used as such until the
imposition of Martial Law in 1972. The Southwest Gallery exhibits items
evoking the life and administration of President Corazon Aquino, while the
Northeast Gallery features portraits of the Vice Presidents done by various
artists, as well as items about President Benigno S. Aquino III and his father,
former Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr.

32

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Kalayaan Hall Historic Rooms

Old Governor's Office
Old Executive Secretary’s Office

Malacanan Palace: Historic Rooms

Old Governor General’s Office

This served as the Governor-General’s
office from Leonard Wood to Frank
Murphy. It was the Executive
Secretary’s office from 1935-1936.

By this time, American authority
was long established at the Palace,
starting with Military Governors
Wesley Merritt (1898), Elwell S. Otis
(1898-1900), and Arthur MacArthur
(1900-1901). The era of American
rule (189-1935) is the focus of the
old Governor General’s Office gallery,
and includes the subsequent civil
government that was inaugurated on
July 4, 1901 under William Howard
Taft (1901-1902). All the military and

civil governors lived at the Palace;
after Taft came Luke E. Wright
(1904-1906), Henry Clay Ide (1906),
James F. Smith (1906-1909), William
Cameron Forbes (1909-1913),

Francis Burton Harrison (1913-
1921), Leonard Wood (1921-1928),
Henry Stimson (1928-1929), Dwight
F. Davis (1929-1932), Theodore
Roosevelt Jr. (1932-1933), and Frank
Murphy (1933-1935). Harrison was
responsible for the construction of the
Executive Building, and from 1921
onward Malacanan Palace hosted the
offices of the executive as well as the
residences of the Governor General.

34

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Old Vice Governor’s Office

An art competition, participated in by the children of the employees of the Office
of the President, was held in the late 1970s with the Malacanang compound, its
buildings, and prominent aspects as the subject. Displayed here in what used to
be the Vice Governor General’s Office from 1920 to 1935 are some of the entries
executed in various media, some showing features of the compound which no
longer exist or are awaiting restoration. This room is currently used as the office
of the Director of the Presidential Museum and Library.

Malacanan Palace: Historic Rooms

35

Old Executive Secretary’s Office

This room was used by President
Manuel L. Quezon as his office from
1935-1936. It then became the office
of Secretary Jorge B. Vargas, the first
Executive Secretary. It served as the
Executive Secretary’s office until the

Macapagal Administration. The Old
Executive Secretary’s Office Gallery
contains an exhibit on the era of
Reform, Revolution and the First
Philippine Republic (c. 1860s-1901),
during which many heroes of the
Philippines had fateful encounters
at Malacanan Palace. The national
hero Jose Rizal was an occasional
visitor in his advocacy for reform and
progress and the exhibit features a
significant quantity of rare Rizaliana
from the Palace collections, as well as
items related to such personages as
Apolinario Mabini, Felix Resurrection

Hidalgo, Maximo Viola, and
Ferdinand Blumentritt. With the
outbreak of the Philippine Revolution
in 1896 and the establishment of the
First Philippine Republic in 1899
(after the overthrow of Spanish rule

THE OLD

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY'S
OFFICE

by the United States the previous
year), Filipinos were fighting a war
of independence, substantially ended
only after President Emilio Aguinaldo
(1899-1901) was captured and
brought to Malacanan Palace. After
being held under house arrest, he
dissolved the Republic on April 1,
1901. Today, the walls are lined with
portraits of the First Fadies, painted
by Fulu Coching Rodriguez.

36

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Mabini Hall

Mabini Hall began as the Budget Building with the creation
of the Budget Commission (now the Department of Budget
and Management) in 1936. After World War II, it housed,
for a time, the Supreme Court, as the Ayuntamiento de
Manila had been destroyed during the Battle for
Manila in February 1945.

In the postwar years, it was expanded on either side to form
a greatly enlarged Administration Building containing the
majority of administrative offices in the Palace compound.
Plans to demolish it and build a high rise building in its place
after it was gutted in a fire in 1992 were completely dropped
due to budgetary constraints. President Fidel V. Ramos
supervised its reconstruction as a spartan but well-ventilated
and lit office complex, and renamed it Mabini Hall.

Mabini Hall

37

Bonifacio Hall

The first major change after the imposition of Martial Law
in 1975 was the transformation of the servant’s quarters
to what is now known as the Premier Guest House. The
building became the temporary residence of the Marcos
family in 1975, when repairs were made to the Palace after
a fire, as well as during the rebuilding of the Palace in 1978
and during the refurbishing and repair of the Palace in the
remaining years of the Marcos presidency.

President Corazon C. Aquino used this building as her
office from 1986 to 1992. The Ramos administration
relegated this building to secondary status despite its
integration into the New Executive Building. It was
renovated in 1998 as a residence for President Joseph
Ejercito-Estrada and his family. In 2003, President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo renamed this building Bonifacio Hall in
honor of its plebeian roots. It currently houses the Private
Office of President Benigno S. Aquino III.

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

■ yi ^

* ♦, yV, *? ,

* / -*>>,, ''r>}~

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'j. y*^ •?

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W-

ft<

Aquino Room

President Ferdinand E. Marcos,
during the course of his dictatorship,
occasionally used this room as his
personal bedroom. In 1983, this was
the room used by then President
Marcos during the assassination of
Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino.
Ironically, when President Corazon
C. Aquino, widower of the slain
Senator, rose to power in 1986, it was
converted into her Private Office. This
room was later partially used as the

Executive Office during the
presidency of Fidel V. Ramos from
1992 to 1998. President Joseph
Estrada again changed its function
and reverted it back to the bedroom
of the President when he moved into
the Premier Guest house in 1998. The
room was officially named the Aquino
Room, by virtue of Proclamation No.
323 dated January 27, 2003, in honor
of President Corazon C. Aquino. It is
now the office of President
Benigno S. Aquino III.

Bonifacio Hall

39

Estrada Room Yellow Room

President Joseph Ejercito-Estrada
was the first president after President
Ferdinand E. Marcos to reside in
the Malacanang Palace compound.
He, however, chose to stay in the
Premier Guest House (now Bonifacio
Hall) instead of the Palace itself. This
prompted a need to refurbish the
building and to create a suitable office
space for the President.

This room served as President
Estrada’s Private Office throughout
the duration of his stay in Malacanan
Palace in the years 1998 to early
2001. On March 31, 2003, President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued
Proclamation No. 349, naming this
room after President Estrada.

The Yellow Room is used by the
current President as a reception room.
Originally a separate room, it was
attached to the Presidential Bedroom
during renovations under President
Joseph Ejercito-Estrada. It contains
items associated with President
Corazon C. Aquino, such as a yellow
baby grand piano given to her by the
Yamaha company and her first official
state portrait, that was formerly
displayed at the Reception Hall of the
Palace until 2003. It has been given
the unofficial designation of Yellow
Room under the administration of
President Benigno S. Aquino III.

40

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

New Executive Building

In 1936, President Manuel L. Quezon was the first to
propose the purchase of the nearby San Miguel Brewery
as additional office space. Later, President Ferdinand E.
Marcos initiated plans to transform it into an integral
part of the Palace. However, it was only under President
Corazon C. Aquino that reconstruction and refurbishing of
the New Executive Building took place.

Its architectural elements deliberately pay homage to the
Palace of the Third Republic. It serves the very utilitarian
purpose of providing much-needed administrative space.

Nevertheless, its newness and lack of proximity to the
Palace led Aquino’s successors to revert back to using the
Palace for official business, starting with President Fidel V.
Ramos. Currently, it houses the Office of the Presidential
Spokesperson, the Presidential Communications
Development and Strategic Planning Office, the Presidential
Communications Operations Office, and the Malacanang
Press Briefing Room.

New Executive Building

41

BAHAY PANGARAP AND
MALACANANG PARK

Malacanang Park was created when
rice fields on the south bank of the
Pasig River across from the official
residence of the President of the
Philippines were acquired on orders
of President Manuel L. Quezon in
1936-1937. Intended as a recreational
retreat, the main features of the
planned complex for the park were
three buildings: a recreation hall used
for official entertaining, a community
assembly hall for conferences with
local government officials, and a rest
house directly opposite the Palace
across the Pasig River which would
serve as the venue for informal
activities and social functions of the
President and First Family.

The buildings constructed by the
Bureau of Public Works were the
product of designs by architects Juan
Arellano and Antonio Toledo. The
prewar park contained - in addition
to the rest house, community assembly
hall, and recreation hall - a putting
green, stables, and shell tennis courts.

President Jose P. Laurel had the putting
green expanded into a small golf
course after an assassination attempt
on him in Wack-Wack golf course.

The existing gazebo in the golf course
dates to the Laurel administration.

President Manuel Roxas further
improved the golf course in
Malacanang Park in addition to
maintaining a truck garden as part
of the food self-sufficiency program
of his administration.

During the administration of President
Ramon Magsaysay, an estero was
filled in joining the properties of
Malacanang Park and the Bureau of
Animal Industry as part of a GSIS
housing project for presidential guards
and other workers.

The Park grounds were refurbished
through the efforts of First Lady
Evangelina Macapagal in the early
1960s. She renamed the rest house
Bahay Pangarap (Dream House).

In the subsequent presidency of
Ferdinand E. Marcos, Malacanang
Park became increasingly identified
with the Presidential Guards, known
today as the Presidential Security
Group. It was during the Marcos
administration that the Bureau of
Animal Industry building became
the headquarters of the Presidential

42

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Guards. General Fabian Ver gained
jurisdiction over some of the historic
buildings, including the recreation
hall, which became (and remains) the
PSG gymnasium, and the community
assembly hall, which was turned into
the presidential escorts building.

Under President Fidel V. Ramos,
the Bahay Pangarap was restored
and became the club house of the
Malacanang Golf Club (the old Club
House had become the residence of
President Marcos’ mother, Mrs. Josefa
Edralin Marcos). Restoration was
supervised by Architect Francisco
Manosa at the initiative of First Lady
Amelita M. Ramos. It was inaugurated
as the New Bahay Pangarap on
March 15, 1996 as an alternate venue
for official functions in addition to
recreational and social activities.

In 2008, the historic Bahay Pangarap
was essentially demolished by
Architect Conrad Onglao and rebuilt
in the contemporary style (retaining
the basic shape of the roof as a nod
to the previous historic structure),
replacing the the Commonwealth-era
swimming pool and pergolas with
a modern swimming pool. It was
inaugurated on December 19, 2008 by
President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo at
a Christmas reception for the Cabinet.
Administrative Order No. 251, issued

on December 22, 2008, placed the
administration of Bahay Pangarap
under the Internal House Affairs
Office of the Office of the President
of the Philippines.

Malacanang Park has always been a
recreational park, and is not a military
facility. The facilities and area of the
PSG are distinct from the demarcation
of Malacanang Park.

President Benigno S. Aquino III
became the first President of the
Philippines to make Bahay Pangarap
his official residence, although
previous presidents have stayed there.

Bahay Pangarap and Malacanang Park

43

II. THE PRESIDENCY

Introduction

The President of the Philippines is elected by direct vote
of the people, and has a term of six years with no
provision for reelection.

There have been 15 Presidents of the Philippines from
the establishment of the office on January 23, 1899, in
the Malolos Republic. President Emilio Aguinaldo is the
inaugural holder of the office and held the position until
March 23, 1901, when he was captured by the Americans
during the Philippine-American War.

The Office of the President of the Philippines was abolished
after the capture of Aguinaldo, and ceased to exist until the
inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935.

44

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

After the first national elections were
held on September 16, 1935, Manuel
L. Quezon was elected as the second
President of the Philippines and
the first President of the Philippine
Commonwealth. Originally elected
to a six-year term, President Quezon
would stay in office until 1944,
because the 1935 Constitution
was amended in 1940 to allow
reelection, but shortened the term of
the President to four years. Quezon
was elected again in 1941 — however,
due to constitutional limitations,
he would have not served the full
four years — his term started on
November 15, 1935, and thus would
end on November 15, 1943. In 1943,
however, President Quezon had to
take an emergency oath of office,
extending his term, because of the
outbreak of World War II.

When World War II forced the
Philippine Commonwealth into exile,
a different government would be
installed in the Philippines, which
would later to be known as the Second
Republic of the Philippines. Jose P.
Laurel would lead this government as
the third President of the Philippines
and the only President of the Second
Republic. Laurel stayed in office
from 1943 to 1944 when the Second
Republic was abolished. At this point,
the President of the Second Republic

would overlap with the President of
the Commonwealth. On September
17, 1945, however, the laws of the
Second Republic were declared null
and void by the Supreme.

The Philippine Commonwealth
would be reestablished on Philippine
soil in 1945 with President Sergio
Osmena as the second President of
the Commonwealth and the fourth
President of the Philippines. Osmena
took his oath of office in the United
States after the demise of President
Quezon. Osmena would run in the
first post-war presidential elections
held in 1946, but lose to Senate
President Manuel Roxas.

President Roxas was elected in
1946 as the third President of
the Philippine Commonwealth,
first President of the independent
Republic of the Philippines, and the
fifth President of the Philippines.

He would usher in the end of the
Philippine Commonwealth on July
4, 1946, and the birth of the Third
Republic. Roxas would be followed
by Presidents Elpidio Quirino, Ramon
Magsaysay, Carlos P. Garcia, and
Diosdado Macapagal as the second,
third, fourth, and fifth President of the
Third Republic and the sixth, seventh,
eighth, and ninth President of the
Philippines, respectively.

The Presidency

45

President Ferdinand E. Marcos
became the last President of the
Third Republic when he declared
martial law in 1972, while the 1973
Constitution suspended the 1935
Constitution, he only formally
proclaims the “New Republic” — the
Fourth — in 1981. Marcos became the
first President of the Fourth Republic
and the tenth President of the
Philippines overall. Marcos stayed in
office for 20 years — the longest serving
President of the Philippines.

In 1986, the EDSA Revolution
successfully installed Corazon C.
Aquino as the new President of the
Philippines — the 11th in the country’s
history. President Aquino served as the
second and last President of the Fourth
Republic at the beginning of her term.
A transitional, Freedom Constitution
was put into effect in the same year.
When the 1987 Constitution was
put into full force and effect, the
Fourth Republic was ended and the
Fifth Republic inaugurated. Thus,
President Aquino became the first
President of the Fifth Republic. She
would be followed by Presidents
Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito
Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo as the second, third, and
fourth President of the Fifth Republic
and 12th, 13th, and 14th President
of the Philippines, respectively.

The current President, Benigno S.
Aquino III, is the fifth President of the
Fifth Republic and the 15th President
of the Philippines.

46

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

The President and his Predecessors

Manuel L. Quezon

Since 1979, this 1940 portrait by Fernando Amorsolo
has been hung in the Palace Reception Hall. Prior to this,
Quezon’s first state portrait by Russian-born American
artist Leon Gordon (1888-1943) was used from 1937-
1979; the Gordon portrait is now installed at the main wall
of the Quezon Executive Office at Malacanan Palace.

0 Jose P. Laurel

Portrayed by Fernando Amorsolo in white tie and tails,
Laurel’s portrait dates back to 1943, the year the Second
Republic was inaugurated.

Sergio Osmena

This portrait of Osmena was also by Fernando Amorsolo.

Manuel Roxas

This portrait of Roxas was also by Fernando Amorsolo.

Elpidio Quirino

This portrait of Quirino was the last presidential portrait
painted by Fernando Amorsolo.

The President and His Predecessors

47

Ramon Magsaysay

This portrait by Antonio Garcia-Llamas was actually
painted when Magsaysay was Secretary of National
Defense. Together with the Gordon portrait of Quezon, it is
the only impressionistic presidential portrait.

Carlos R Garcia

This is the first presidential portrait to include the
presidential flag. It was done by Rolando Ponce Lampitoc
Sr. in the style of Fernando Amorsolo.

Diosdado Macapagal

This is the second presidential portrait to include the
presidential flag, with the royal blue color used in the
1960s. It was also done by Rolando Lampitoc Sr.

Ferdinand E. Marcos

This portrait of Marcos is a substitute for the official
portrait done by Vicente Manansala in 1972. The
Manansala portrait was lost during the EDSA People
Power Revolution in 1986.

Corazon Aquino

This portrait by Lulu Coching Rodriguez replaced Aquino’s
first state portrait, which was transferred to the Yellow
Room in 2003.

48

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Fidel V. Ramos

Prior to 2003, Ramos used a wood etching made by
convicts as his official portrait. That portrait hangs in the
Ramos Room of the Palace. The present official portrait
was made by Lulu Coching Rodriguez.

Joseph Ejercito Estrada

This portrait of Estrada was actually the first presidential
portrait done by Lulu Coching Rodriguez. After the
Estrada presidency, former presidents Aquino and Ramos
decided to replace their previous official portraits with new
ones by the same artist.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

In Arroyo’s first year in office, she had an official
photograph, not a portrait, hanging in the central space of
the Reception Hall traditionally reserved for the incumbent
president. Her official portrait by Lulu Coching Rodriguez
was unveiled in 2002.

Benigno S. Aquino III

This portrait by Lulu Coching Rodriguez was unveiled in
Aquino’s first year in office.

The President and His Predecessors

49

Benigno S. Aquino III and the Presidency

1

Aquino is the first unmarried president in the
history of the country.

Aquino is the first president with no children.

Aquino is the first deputy speaker of the House to later
become president.

Aquino is the first marksman to become president
since Ferdinand Marcos, who belonged to the
University of the Philippines rifle team.

Aquino is the first president since 1992 to be inaugurated
into office without having been vice-president first.

Aquino is the first president since Diosdado Macapagal
to be elected as the candidate of the Liberal Party. He
is also the first president since Macapagal not to have
changed political parties.

Aquino is the first post-EDSA president to exceed Garcia’s
1957 plurality at 42.08%. Majority Presidents: Quezon
(68% in 1935 and 81.78% in 1941), Roxas (54% in
1946), Quirino (51% in 1949), Magsaysay (68.9% in
1953), Macapagal (55% in 1961), Marcos (54.76% in
1965, 61.5% in 1969), Aquino (approx. 51%). Plurality
Presidents: Garcia (41.3%) was the only president elected
by plurality prior to 1972. The lowest plurality ever was
Fidel V. Ramos (23.6% in 1992). Estrada at 39.6% in
1998 was the first post-EDSA president to nearly match
Garcia’s 1957 plurality.

50

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Aquino is the first to use the suffix -III. Tthere have been no
Juniors or the Thirds elected president previously.

Aquino is the first president to have a February birthday.
Two presidents were born in January: Roxas (Jan. 1), Cory
Aquino (Jan. 25); three in March: Laurel (Mar. 9), Ramos
(Mar. 18), Aguinaldo (Mar. 22); two in April: Arroyo (Apr.

5), Estrada (Apr. 19); two in August: Quezon (Aug. 19),
Magsaysay (Aug. 31); three in September: Osmena (Sep. 9),
Marcos (Sep. 11), Macapagal (Sep. 28); two in November:
Garcia (Nov. 4), Quirino (Nov. 16).

The President of the Philippines uses license plate No. 1.

2

Aquino is the second child of a former president to become
president in his own right. Arroyo was the first presidential
child to become president.

Aquino is the second president from Tarlac. The first was
his mother Corazon Aquino.

Aquino is only the second president who does not drink.
Aguinaldo was the only non-drinker previously.

Aquino was the second president to be sworn in by a
Filipino associate justice of the Supreme Court (his mother
was the first), but the fourth president sworn in by an
associate justice of a Supreme Court. Quezon in 1943
for the indefinite extension of his term, and Osmena
who succeded into office in 1944, were sworn in by U.S.
Associate Justices Felix Frankfurter and Robert H. Jackson,
respectively, in Washington, D.C.

Benigno Aquino III and His Presidency

51

Aquino is the second president to have studied at the
Ateneo de Manila, but the first to have graduated from the
Ateneo de Manila University.

Two presidents only partially resided in Malacanan Palace:
Laurel, and Estrada (who stayed in the Guest House).

Two presidents were elected by the legislature and not in a
national election: Aguinaldo and Laurel.

Two presidents were re-elected to second terms after
serving full first terms: Quezon and Marcos.

Two presidents were brought to power by People Power
revolts: Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
our two female presidents.

3

Aquino is the third president with no spouse upon the
assumption of the presidency: Quirino was a widower,
Corazon Aquino, a widow. Unlike Quirino and Corazon
Aquino, who had children, Aquino III has none.

Aquino at 50 is the third-youngest elected president
(Magsaysay remains the youngest ever nationally-elected
to the presidency), and the fourth-youngest president
after Aguinaldo, Magsaysay, and Marcos. He is also the
youngest of the presidents who became chief executive
in their 50s. The ages of his predecessors at their
inauguration/succession are as follows: Aguinaldo, 29;
Quezon, 57; Laurel, 51; Osrnena, 67; Roxas, 54; Quirino,
57; Magsaysay, 46; Garcia, 60; Macapagal, 51; Marcos, 48;
Aquino, 53; Ramos, 64; Estrada, 61; and Arroyo, 54).

52

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

Aquino is third to use his second given name as his middle
initial, as Quezon and Laurel did.

Aquino is the third to engage in shooting as a sport
(Quezon and Marcos engaged in hunting). He is also the
third to be fond of billiards (Garcia and Macapagal
also played billiards).

Aquino is the third president to only hold office in, but
not be a resident of, Malacanan Palace, following Corazon
Aquino and Ramos.

Aquino was the third generation of Aquinos to serve in the
Senate: his grandfather and father were also senators.

4

Aquino was the fourth president to be sworn in by an
Associate Justice. Quezon, when his term was extended in
exile in 1943, renewed his oath of office before Associate
Justice Felix Frankfurter. Osmena, who succeeded to the
presidency in exile, was sworn in by Associate Justice
Robert H. Jackson (thus, two presidents have been
sworn in by foreign justices, both because they headed
governments-in-exile). Corazon Aquino was sworn in by
Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee. Eleven presidents
were sworn in by a chief justice: Quezon (1935, 1941),
Laurel, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Garcia, Macapagal,
Marcos, Ramos, Estrada, and Arroyo. Aguinaldo was the
only one to be sworn in by a Speaker of the House.

Four presidents were not inaugurated either on December
30 or June 30: Aguinaldo (January 23, 1899), Quezon
(November 15, 1935 and November 15, 1943), Laurel
(October 14, 1943), and Roxas (May 28, 1946).

Benigno Aquino III and His Presidency

53

Four vice-presidents who succeeded to the presidency
also took their oaths on dates different from the
traditional inaugural date: Osmena (August 1, 1944);
Quirino (April 17, 1948), Garcia (March 18, 1957),
and Arroyo (January, 2001).

Most number of times a president has taken the oath of
office: four, for Marcos (1965, 1969, the 1981 and 1986
“inaugurals”); followed by three, for Quezon (1935 in
Manila, 1941 in Corregidor, 1943 in Washington, D.C.,
also before three different individuals); Quirino (1948 in
Malacanan, 1949); Garcia (1957, twice: upon succession
in March Malacanan and election in December); Arroyo
(2001 in Quezon City, 2004 in Cebu).

5

Aquino comes from a family of five siblings.

At age 50, Aquino is going to be the 15th President of the
Philippines. He became president at the same age at which
his father, Benigno S. Aquino Jr., died. Officially, Aquino’s
fourteen predecessors will be: Emilio Aguinaldo, Manuel
L. Quezon, Jose P. Laurel, Sergio Osmena, Manuel Roxas,
Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos P. Garcia,
Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand E. Marcos, Corazon C.
Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito Estrada,
and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Aquino is the fifth President of the Fifth Republic. The
present republic was established with the ratification
of the 1987 Constitution. The previous republics are
the First (Malolos, 1899-1901); Second (the Japanese
Occupation, 1943-194 5); the Third (from independence
in 1946 to 1972); the Fourth (the “New Republic”

54

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

proclaimed in 1981). Aguinaldo was the lone President
of the First Republic; Quezon was the first President of
the Commonwealth and Roxas the last; Laurel was lone
President of the Second Republic; Roxas was the first
President of the Third Republic and Marcos, the last;
Marcos was the first President of the Fourth Republic and
Corazon Aquino, briefly served under the Fourth Republic
but proclaimed a revolutionary government. The Fifth
Republic came into being with the ratification of the 1987
Constitution, and Corazon Aquino, Ramos, Estrada, and
Arroyo were the presidents of the Fifth Republic.

Aquino received over 15 million votes; his winning
margin was over five million votes.

Aquino was the fifth president to take his oath of office
on June 30: Marcos, Ramos, Estrada, and Arroyo were
the others. Starting with Quezon’s second inaugural in
1941 until Marcos’ second inaugural in 1969 (with the
exception of the special election called in 1946) presidents
were inaugurated on Rizal Day, December 30. Six
presidents Quezon (1941), Quirino (1949), Magsaysay,
Garcia (1957), Macapagal, Marcos (1965, 1969) had
inaugurals on December 30.

Aquino is the fifth public smoker to be president: Quezon,
Roxas, Garcia, and Estrada were/are all smokers.

6

Aquino is the sixth president to be elected to a single
six-year term. The others were: Quezon in 1935 [term
subsequently extended by constitutional amendment),
Aquino in 1986, Ramos in 1992, Estrada in 1998, and
Arroyo in 2004. He will be only the second President to

Benigno Aquino III and His Presidency

55

serve an exact 6 year term: only President Ramos has,
so far, served an exact 6 year term; President Quezon’s
original term was modified to permit re-election for an
additional two years; President Corazon Aquino’s term was
extended by a few months to synchronize her term with
that of new officials elected under the 1987 Constitution;
President Estrada’s term was shortened by EDSA Dos;
and President Arroyo served the remainder of her
predecessor’s term and an additional six years. Under the
1935 Constitution, only Diosdado Macapagal served an
exact four-year term.

7

Aquino is the seventh president to be inaugurated at
the Quirino Grandstand. Six other presidents were also
inaugurated at the Quirino Grandstand: Quirino (1949),
Magsaysay (1953), Garcia (1957), Macapagal (1961),
Marcos (1965, etc.), and Ramos (1992).

Aquino is the the seventh to use a middle initial after
Manuel L. Quezon, Jose P. Laurel, Carlos P. Garcia,
Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino (who used her maiden name
as her middle initial), and Fidel V. Ramos. Aguinaldo,
Osmena, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Macapagal did
not use middle initials at all. Estrada uses a special name
combining his real family name, Ejercito, with his screen
name. Arroyo prefers to use the hyphenated Macapagal-
Arroyo. The initials of President-elect Aquino are BSAIII,
following the practice of his father and grandfather, he
uses his second given name as his middle initial, the same
practice followed by Presidents Quezon and Laurel.

56

Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

8

The shortest inaugural address at a regular inaugural was
Ramon Magsaysay’s in 1953: 8 minutes.

9

If you include Laurel, Ramos, Macapagal, and his daughter
Arroyo who were/are occasional (social) smokers, Aquino
III is the ninth president who a smokes.

Juancho Dulay Barreto on Twitter pointed out that
Aquino was proclaimed president-elect on June 9, 2010
- exactly 9 months after his declaration of candidacy on
September 9, 2009.

He is the ninth to be proclaimed president-elect by the
legislature. The first was Manuel L. Quezon, followed by
Manuel Roxas, Ramon Magsaysay, Diosdado Macapagal,
Ferdinand E. Marcos, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito
Estrada, Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo (eighth if you don’t
count Arroyo’s proclamation on the basis of the Quirino
and Garcia precedents). While Congress certified the
election of Elpidio Quirino and Carlos R Garcia, they had
succeeded into office previously, and were already serving
as president when elected to a full term; thus, they were not
referred to as presidents-elect. Aguinaldo and Laurel were
not elected president in a national election, they were made
president by a vote of the national assembly and thus never
president-elect. Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency
by means of the People Power Revolution and was not
proclaimed by the Batasang Pambansa.

Aquino is the ninth president to have served
as a congressman.

Benigno Aquino III and His Presidency

57

Nine presidents lived in Malacanan Palace: Quezon,
Osmena, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Garcia, Macapagal,
Marcos, and Arroyo. Three presidents (Quirino and Garcia
upon succession, Marcos in 1986) have take oaths of office
there. Four presidents have had to flee because of war or
revolution: Quezon, Laurel, Marcos, and Estrada.

Aquino III is the ninth president to swear on a bible.
Magsaysay was the first to take his oath on a bible: Garcia,
Macapagal, Marcos, Aquino, Ramos, Estrada, and Arroyo
followed suit. Aguinaldo, Quezon, Laurel, Osmena, Roxas
and Quirino - belonging to generations closer to the
revolutionary era - did not take their oaths on a bible.
Magsaysay and Marcos took their oath on two bibles
each in 1953 and 1965.

10

Aquino is the tenth senator to become a president.

Aquino is the tenth president to be inaugurated in Manila.

The other nine who were inaugurated in Manila were
Quezon in 1935, Laurel in 1943, Roxas in 1946, Quirino
in 1949, Magsaysay in 1953, Garcia in 1957, Macapagal in
1961, Marcos in 1965 etc., and Ramos in 1992.

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Malacanan Palace: A Quick Guide

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